Settling in

So it's been almost a aweek since I've been in Prague, which is hard to believe. The first 6 days have gone by so fast, it's really been one big blur looking back on it. It seems like we had so much to do, so fast, that I never really had time to sit back and think about it. We got thrown into our apartments, taken to a pub, then a club, all on the first night. Two days later, the 40 students in the program were split into 3 groups for our Czech language intensive class. The class goes from 9 (much to the chagrin of the students) to 1:30 with two 15 minute breaks where we go and grab snacks from little shops near our school. By the way, there really is no central campus for Charles University. It's not set up like campuses back home. The buildings for the university are split up and are all over the place. We're south, down by the river. Anyways, the class has been going pretty well. We had our first quiz yesterday, and I got a 34/36, so I'm pretty pleased with that. We're learning a ton in a short amount of time, so it really takes a lot of concentration and focus, but hey, it's worth it, and it's only two weeks. The language can be tough, but its not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. By the time we're done with this mini class, I'll know enough to be polite with the locals and with people in restaurants and such.

I've already seen some of the big sights in Prague. (I have taken many pictures, but I still haven't gotten internet on my computer yet, so I can't post them quite yet...but it will be soon.) I saw the Charles Bridge and Astronomical clock, both of which lived up to the hype. The sun came out today for the first time since I've been here, which made the view from the bridge out over the river quite beautiful. There weren't that many tourists on the bridge, which also made it much more pleasant of an experience. I've also seen the old Jewish cemetary and the Spanish Synagogue. The old jewish cemetary is where all the jews from the old Ghetto's in prauge were forced to be buried. More than 20,000 jews are buried in an area the size of a football field, with more than 12 to a grave. The tombstones are overlapping, and basically out of control. It's a little depressing, but very interesting, and is located right in the middle of town. The synagogue was extremely pretty inside, and I'm sure it was the first of many to come.

I've got to say, it sure is a huge difference living in a big, bustling city. It's a strange feeling using the metro to get places. I mean, I'm a california kid who usually longboards to school. But I like the change, it's a cool feeling. Random thought: Speaking of the metro, its amazing how quiet Czech people are. A packed metro-tram is usually pretty quiet. Maybe its just because it's full of people who are strangers to each other, but its amazing how quiet these people can be. It makes you notice how loud and obnoxious americans are. Speaking of which, its pretty easy to figure out who Americans are just by looking at them. I can't tell you how many times I've walked by a person and we're looked at each other with that look of "Oh hi! You're an American too!" on our faces. Kinda funny. I'm not sure what the giveaway is, our clothes, our hairstyles, or what, but there's just something that makes it obvious.

Something cool I was thinking about: Since I've been here, I haven't turned on a TV once, have hardly listened to music, have been waking up at 8am and haven't spent hardly any time alone (besides right now actually). Does that sound like the Steven you know? (I'm sure these habits will change a little, but still.)

Alright, I'm gonna head over to some friend's apartments to hopefully download a driver that will allow me to use internet on my own computer...cross your fingers. If this doesn't work, I don't know how I'm going to use skype or upload pictures...

Nashle!